Open Windows, Open Doors
by NefariousNuisance
Summary: Justin knows everything but what's most important, and Mason becomes his unexpected teacher.  Friendships, Relationships, consummation and broken hearts spread across various chapters.  Slash!  NSFW, NSFChildren, NSFInnocent little old ladies.
1. Friends Friends

**A/N**: So before we begin, you should know a couple of things. This is slash fiction, as stated before. That means dudes kissing dudes, boys groping each other, and intimate situations between two males. Got it? Good. Next, this was franticly and sporadically written at one in the morning, and hasn't been beta'd or anything. So basically what I'm saying is that it's crappy and probably riddled with errors. Sorry. Finally, this story isn't going to be all about sex. These first few chapters will not be lemon-scented, sorry.  
>Anyway, I hope you enjoy. First post (WOOT!) so we'll see how this goes. Here goes nothing:<p>

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><p><span>Chapter One: Friends?Friends.

Mason was all sprawled out across the couch, a rather large and haphazardly-made quilt draped over his slumbering form. The young werewolf had nowhere to go, and so he was currently staying in the loft above the Sub Station in Waverly Place. But Jerry wasn't as dumb as his daughter assumed; he'd had the eldest Russo child place an enchantment on the staircase, so that a certain teenage girl wouldn't get any ideas about a midnight romp with her half-monster boyfriend. Alex, however, was not as easily discouraged as her father would have liked to believe. She was currently in the process of trying to estimate the distance from her bedroom window to the terrace.

"Now let's see," she mumbled absentmindedly to herself, "if I tie this bed sheet, this blanket, and this pillowcase together, and I jump the last couple feet… Yup, I'll probably be fine." The raven-haired girl set to work attaching one of the pieces of cloth to the edge of her window sill, being careful not to let the wind slam the window closed. It would be hard to explain to her father why she was leaning out her window in her pajamas at three in the morning. Well, besides the obvious anyway; she couldn't very well tell her father that she was planning to climb down the side of the building and do some hardcore snogging with her boyfriend.

She smiled to herself at the thought. She lived for talking her way out of things, and, although it could mean lots of trouble, she felt that she wouldn't mind such a challenge. But that was beside the point. Alex hoisted herself onto the ledge and grabbed hold of her make-shift rope. She placed her feet flat against the wall and gently closed her window with one hand. Then she shuffled her way down the wall, just as she had done on the rock wall in Adventure Ed. When she bothered to show up, that is.

The going was fairly easy. The flat brick building was much easier to climb down than a bumpy rock wall. She cracked a mischievous grin, knowing that she was about to get exactly what she wanted without anybody getting in her way, and she was being super sneaky about it too. After all, why play by the rules if you're exceptionally good at breaking them?

Her bare feet hit the terrace with a small thud. So far, so good. Alex let go of the "rope" and rubbed her hands. Now all she had to do was open the sliding door just a crack and –

"Aaaah!" Her high-pitched shriek rang out, bouncing off the walls of the brick buildings and sailing upward into the onyx sky. There, in front of the glass door, was Justin, scowling with his arms crossed. It was quite obvious from his robe and his slightly tousled hair that he had just woken up. Maybe Alex wasn't as stealthy as she thought.

"Alex. I thought I might find you here. Care to explain what you were planning to do? I figure you've got, oh, forty-five seconds or so until Dad gets down here. Thirty if Mom left the pie out on the counter." He glared at her angrily, but smugly all the same. Since his sister enjoyed breaking the rules so much, it was only right for him to enjoy catching her in the act.

"Practicing for gym?" Alex said with a slight smile.

"Yeah. Maybe you should practice actually being present for gym first. Oh look, here's Dad."

Jerry's voice boomed from the top of the stairs. "Alexandra Margarita Russo, you'd better not be down there when I get to the bottom of these – Hey, is that the leftover pie?"

"That's my cue to disappear!" Alex called as she grabbed onto the rope and scampered up to her room.

Justin grimaced and then looked at his father, who was just climbing down the last step of the metal staircase. "Dad, you have to go after her! She's on her way back up to her room right now, but if you turn right around you can catch her!

"Alright, Justin, just give me a second to catch my breath," Jerry said as he moved towards the pie. "Hey, hand me a fork, will you?"

"Dad, this really isn't the time for pie. We have a serious problem here. Alex broke the rules and she's about to get away with it again. Dad, you never punish her like you should. If you just read one of the books I gave you, just one," he ranted, but was quickly interrupted.

"Justin, I understand. Yes, Alex can be a pain sometimes, but she's very different from you. You like structure and order, and because of that you don't get into trouble. Alex, well, she's discord, chaos, and mischief trapped in the body of a teenage girl. She does get punished, but not always in a way that you see fit. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. You turned out alright, and she will too. Now get some sleep. Oh, and if your mother asks where the pie went… Mason ate it." And with that, Jerry rushed up the stairs (well, hobbled up the stairs would be a more accurate description), probably to quickly scarf down the pie before entering Alex's room.

Justin sighed. His father meant well, but just once it would be nice to see Alex really get what she deserved. She probably wouldn't even lose her wand for a week for this fiasco.

"Justin?"

He turned around. The voice belonged to Mason, who was now looking at him over the top of the couch. Justin had almost forgotten he was there.

"I heard what just happened, and I can't help but say I agree with you. Alex is wonderful, but sometimes she's just… "

"A nuisance?" Justin offered.

"Haha, yes." Mason's laugh was light; sure she was his girlfriend, but that didn't mean he had to lie about her. "Hey, come sit with me for a while? I promise I won't bite!" Mason said as he patted the seat next to him.

"Wow. The author of _Magical Creatures: an Examination_ wasn't kidding when he said that werewolves made awful jokes," Justin said with a sarcastic smirk. But he took the invitation anyway, situating himself next to the brown-haired boy.

"Ouch. That hurt. And to think that I was going to be the comforting friend! I guess I'll have to reconsider my offer," Mason said jovially with a playful punch to Justin's arm.

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm sort of mean. Alex has conditioned me." Justin smirked again, and then continued, "Hey, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

"Where will you go? I know Dad and Mom let Harper live here, but considering your relationship with Alex this situation is probably only temporary. Where… I mean, do you have somewhere to go?"

Mason shifted a little, rubbing his palms together as he thought. "Well, not exactly. I mean, I guess I haven't given it much thought. It seems like this whole adventure with your sister… your _family_… has been touch and go. This is the first time in a long while I've really got a place to nod off for at least a week."

"Well what about your friends? Can't you crash with any of them?"

"My mates? Well, I don't have too many of those in non-canine form. I try to stay away from the non-magical population. It's rather hard to explain my lifestyle to them, as I'm sure you can relate."

"Yeah," Justin said as he thought about all the times he'd lied to Zeke and the rest of the school to keep magic and the wizard world a secret. "Yeah, I understand. Well listen, I'm getting tired, so I should be off to bed. I'll see you in the morning. G'night." He heaved himself off the couch and started to make his way towards the stairs.

"Justin?"

"Hmm?"

"Does my breath smell?"

"What?" he asked, turning around.

"Does my breath smell?" Mason repeated.

"No. Your breath smells ni – its fine. Why?"

"Well, you got up in such a hurry. I thought maybe my breath was offensive or something."

"Oh. No, it's not your fault Mason. I'm just tired, that's all. You know how I like to have my eight hours of sleep every night. It looks like I've already missed at least thirty minutes." Justin turned away again to ascend the stairs.

"Justin, come sit with me."

"No that's quite alright. Would you look at the time? Almost midnight! I'd better be off."

"Justin, come on. Come back here. Please?" Mason nearly pouted. NEARLY.

There was a pause. Justin reconsidered, then fell victim to the almost-pout and reclaimed his seat next to the other boy. "Alright. I'm here."

"Thanks. So, what's the matter?"

"What?"

"Why'd you get up and leave so fast?"

"Well," Justin began, "let's just say I'm not very popular."

Mason laughed a little, but quickly stopped when he saw Justin's glowering face. "Sorry. It's just that you make no sense whatsoever. When did I ever bring up popularity?"

"You did! Indirectly, at least." Justin sighed. "It's just… when you started talking about not having many normal human friends, it made me think of myself. I have Zeke, but that's pretty much it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being the smart one, but would it really hurt to just be a little bit liked? Anyway, I thought that you were going to ask me about friendships and things like that, and I felt uncomfortable." Here, Justin laughed slightly. "I guess I'm no good when I'm uncomfortable. I know a lot of things, but when I'm put on the spot it really throws me off."

"Stage fright," Mason said quietly.

"Yeah, something like that. Look, I'm sorry if I offended you when I tried to leave. Like I said, no good when I'm uncomfortable."

"Hey, no problem. Everybody's got their issues."

"Yeah."

And for a long time that's all that was said. The two boys sat in silence, just appreciating each other's company. It went on that way for fifteen minutes, until Mason spoke in a hushed tone.

"I hope you win the wizard competition."

"What?"

"I said: I hope you win the wizard competition."

More silence.

"But… But Alex is your girlfriend. If she doesn't win you two can't be together!"

"I know," Mason whispered. "But a relationship is a relationship. I like Alex, but I can't say that what we have is anything more than juvenile. She's not old enough to understand all that the word 'love' actually entails, and I don't think I am either. But you have something Justin. A real talent, a knack for magic. I know you'll do great things with it. I can't imagine what this world would be like if gifts like that were neglected for the sake of a teenage relationship that might not even exist by next month."

Ear-splitting, bone-shattering, profoundly-long silence.

"Well… thank you. That's really, really nice."

"You're welcome."

Then Justin reconsidered what he'd just said. "Oh! No, I didn't mean the part about you and Alex not lasting, I just meant when you complimented me. It's not like –"

"It's alright Justin, I know what you meant," Mason said with a smile. "Now I think it's time we both got some sleep. Gotta have your eight hours, right? And, you may not believe it, but I'm an absolute bear in the morning."

"I thought you were a wolf!" Justin exclaimed sarcastically.

"Oh haha. And I'M the one with the bad jokes."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Alright, well I'll see you in the morning, ok? Night." And with that, Justin went off once more towards the staircase, this time much more calmly.

Mason touched his shoulder. "Justin? You know we're friends, right?"

Justin turned and looked at him. "Right," he said, a smile gracing his lips as the words left. Mason smiled back, and then the two went their separate ways. Justin crept slowly up the stairs towards his room, trying not to wake the others. Mason curled up on the couch, covering himself once again with the old quilt.

All was quiet in Waverly Place.


	2. Sometimes It's Just Wet Dirt

A/N: What's this? An update? I hope you guys enjoy it, and hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than a year from now.

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><p><span>Chapter Two: Sometimes It's Just Wet Dirt<span>

It had been two weeks since Alex staged her little fiasco, and, just as Justin had predicted, she'd escaped without so much as a scratch to her social life. Dad hadn't even grounded her for a week. It was utterly ridiculous. In fact, it was so incredibly distracting that Justin had to put the book he was reading down on the bed next to him and cover his face with a pillow to keep from exploding.

Alex had a decidedly different view. She was currently down in the Sub Station relaying the tale of her "romantic escapade" to Harper, who was listening with the same rapt attention that she had the first five times Alex had told it.

"There I was, hanging out the window, clinging to the makeshift rope for dear life. I was a good thirty feet off the terrace, and I knew that if I didn't fall in just the right way my body would be nothing more than a crumpled up mess of bones and flesh on the concrete." Harper sighed, ever more impressed with Alex's heroic feats. If only _she_ was that daring.

Theresa sighed too, but it was definitely more out of annoyance than adoration. Every time her daughter told that story the window got higher and higher up, the rope got shorter and shorter, and her athleticism became more and more superhuman. The girl lived one floor above the terrace, for goodness sake. The window couldn't be more than fifteen feet away. Add in the rope, and it was a fall that Alex could walk away from completely unscathed.

Theresa also couldn't believe that Mason had eaten the entire pie after everyone had gone to bed. Sure, better him than Jerry, but still! She never said anything to him about it, because the boy had always had good manners as far as she was concerned. She was just so shocked when Jerry came back to bed, telling her with cherry-scented breath that Alex was back in her room and that Mason had eaten the pie. It was just so – cherry-scented breath?

"JERRY!"

"Uh-oh," Jerry said aloud. He wondered what he'd done this time. Maybe Theresa figured out where the pie had really gone two weeks ago? Nah, he'd covered that pretty well with the story about Mason. Besides, it's not like there was any evidence to incriminate him. However, if Theresa was calling his name like that then he was definitely in trouble. Deciding to pretend like he didn't hear her (how could he not?) Jerry turned up the volume on the radio and continued slicing lunchmeat for the sandwiches.

Max, who was sitting at the counter and watching his father work, had a sudden urge to get up and leave. Strange how he got that urge whenever dad tuned into the oldies station. Whatever, Max had more important things to do. First, he had to go check on that new variety of mold that seemed to be growing under his bed. It was purple and it moved, sort of like it was breathing. It was nothing at all like the other types of mold he had growing in his room, and he was excited to poke it with different things and see what happened.

When he got up to his room, however, he could still hear Dad's obnoxiously loud music. There was no way he could concentrate on his mold with _that_ assaulting his ears. Max hooked his mp3 player up to a pair of speakers he had gotten for Christmas and cranked up the volume, easing into the familiar sounds and setting to work on turning his mattress over.

Justin almost screamed. He had been trying to return to his book when a strange mixture of guttural sounds, whistles, and animal noises came screeching from the wall that divided his and his brother's bedrooms. Fearing that his IQ might actually suffer from long-term exposure to the nonsensicle "music," Justin burst out of the room and stomped down the hall. He flew down the stairs into the Sub Station and made for the door, stopping only to grab his hat, scarf, and coat.

It was a blisteringly cold March day, but Justin was glad for the fresh air. All he had wanted to do was spend his Saturday reading a good book, but his annoying siblings had managed to nearly suffocate him with their obnoxious ways.

Not wishing to waste his time away by thinking about them, Justin banished his thoughts and decided to get some coffee. He really didn't like coffee; it was bitter, too strong, and it always seemed to be hotter than necessary. If he waited for it to cool, it got too cold and tasted like wet dirt. Then again, this was New York. It probably was wet dirt.

At the very least, it would take his mind off of Alex and Max. Feeling his cheeks beginning to tinge in reaction to the cold, Justin hurried his steps until he was outside his favorite coffee shop. It was family-owned, and very cozy. It was built to look like one of those town-homes in the older part of the city, the ones that were all built right next to each other with big windows and little gardens in the front, enclosed in wrought iron fences.

His favorite parts were the windows, which were seated above raised platforms covered in pillows and blankets. They made excellent reading spots, and the owners had basically reserved one solely for him because of the frequency of his visits.

Justin knew that the owner's daughter had a crush on him, but he'd never had the guts to act on it. She was a pretty brunette with a sharp wit and a kind heart, and every time she spoke to him he would freeze up. She thought it was cute; he thought it was terrifying, and thoroughly wished she would stop doing that.

Today was no different. He was curled up against the window, his coffee in one hand, his book in the other, when she nudged his feet, trying to get him to move a little so that she could sit next to him.

"I don't want to be rude, but not right now, OK? I'm almost at the end of this chapter, and things have really started to get interesting."

"Alright, I can wait." Well, her voice had gotten deeper.

Justin looked up to see the smiling face of none other than "Mason! What are you doing here?"

The boy smiled. "It's really cold outside. I thought a cup of coffee might defrost my insides." He shifted on his feet. "May I sit down?"

Justin suddenly felt embarrassed and he pulled his feet to the side. "Yeah, sure! I'm sorry, I thought you were –"

"The waitress? Yeah, I can tell she's got her eye on you." He elbowed Justin in the ribs softly. "You know, she is pretty cute."

"Yes, she is. She also won't leave me alone." Justin said with a scoff. "I like to read here, but sometimes she makes it impossible to focus."

"And now I'm here distracting you," Mason teased.

"No, you're not!" Justin said quickly. "Well, yeah, I guess you kind of are. Don't take that the wrong way though! I really don't mind!"

"Don't get so flustered," Mason said with an easy smile, "you'll scare off your girlfriend over there."

Justin punched him in the arm.

"Look, I know you wanted to read, but after I grab a cup you wanna walk in the park? It's not that I don't love your family, it's just that they can be a little –"

"Suffocating?"

"Haha, yeah. I need some air, you know?"

Justin stood up, putting his book in his coat pocket. "You have no idea."

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><p>An hour and a half later the two boys walked into the Sub Station, noses and cheeks red from the cold. They had talked about their favorite books, the new art exhibit that was coming to the museum down the street, and how it would be nice if the temperature stopped dropping. All in all, it was a pleasant experience and a refreshing break from the chaos of Waverly Place.<p>

"I'm gonna head upstairs and warm up. I'll see if your mom needs any help with dinner." Mason smiled at Justin, then hurried up the stairs into the warmth of the loft.

Justin took off his hat, coat, and scarf, and looked for his dad.

He found him in the kitchen, mumbling something to himself as he sliced sandwiches. "…overstayed his welcome…Alex thinks she can…behind my back…under my own roof!…got to go…"

"Dad!" Justin said, causing Jerry to jump and almost drop the knife on his foot.

"Oh my goodness, Justin, you gave me a scare. Why did you sneak up on me like that?" Jerry was trying to appear threatening, but his scowl was made much less terrifying by the bits of cheese that were stuck to the corners of his mouth. Apparently, he hadn't just been preparing sandwiches for the customers.

"You can't kick Mason out," Justin declared indignantly. "He needs our help right now."

"Justin, I'm not upset with him. It's just that Alex is making me more anxious with each passing day. It's like she's trying to test my patience."

"Dad, it's Alex. She's always trying to test your patience."

"That's true. But I would feel a lot more comfortable without her boyfriend sleeping in our living room."

"Dad, it's freezing outside! You can't throw him out there in weather like this! Please, just give him a week longer so he can find another place to stay. Please?"

Jerry studied his son carefully, wondering if he might have been hexed by Alex. Judging by the number of wizard homework assignments she'd actually turned in, however, Jerry doubted Alex actually knew any hexes. With a sigh, he said "OK."

Justin smiled victoriously. "Thanks Dad!"

"Yeah yeah, just help me with these sandwiches so we can close up and have dinner." Jerry turned around. "Justin?"

The eldest Russo child was already gone.

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><p>"Mason! Mason!" Justin called as he clomped up the stairs as fast as he could. "Mason, I…what are you doing?"<p>

The other boy had a filled suitcase on the coffee table, and it looked like he was trying to close it but failing miserably.

"I'm packing Justin. I know that I've stayed far longer than I should have. I'm sorry." He grunted as he pushed hard on the suitcase, but still couldn't get it to close. "Hey, do you think you could give me a hand with this?"

"Wait! No, you haven't! Really, you don't have to go, Dad said it was alright."

"No, I really don't want to cause you guys anymore trouble. Now please, help me with this lousy suitcase."

"No," Justin said, suddenly very angry. "I will not. You don't need it, because you are staying here."

"I know," Mason said with a smirk.

"You – what?"

"I know. I heard you talking to your Dad downstairs. I heard you stick up for me. And I really appreciate it."

"But…but you – and the suitcase!"

"I was only teasing you." Mason said, giving him another smug grin.

"Hey! That's not fair! I was seriously concerned about you!"

"I know," Mason said, taking a step forward. He wrapped his arms around the raven-haired boy and pulled him close. "Thank you so much. You really are a great friend."

Justin was shocked, but pleasantly so. Lost in the moment, he suddenly realized that Mason was hugging him. He tentatively put his hands on Mason's back, but something snapped and his inhibitions melted away like the ice inside him after a warm cup of coffee. You know, one that wasn't just wet dirt. He returned the embrace wholeheartedly.

"Will you unpack for me?" Mason said, letting go and giving Justin a wink. Then he walked out to the terrace where Theresa was setting out the dinner plates.

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><p>The dinner table was rowdy and crowded, with Justin, Mason, Alex, Harper, Max, Theresa, and Jerry all gathered around it. There were plates of mashed potatoes, green beans, steamed carrots, boiled corn, and candied peaches strewn across the table. In the middle was a mouth-watering ham, glazed with Theresa's own secret recipe (which was really just a pinch of brown sugar and a little cherry soda, but hey, it tasted pretty darn good anyway). All hands were on the table, waiting to grab their helping before anybody else.<p>

"Don't forget to say grace first," Theresa reminded with a slight hint of scolding in her voice.

Everyone bowed their heads and folded their hands. Jerry began, "We thank the lord for this food, that –"

"Amen!" Alex yelled, and everybody made a mad dash for the food.

Complete chaos broke loose in Waverly Place, and the Russo family, including wizards, a werewolf, and a Harper, wouldn't have had it any other way.

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><p>AN: D'awwww, what a sappy ending. They all love each other so much!

And what's this? Is that camaraderie building between Justin and Mason? Gasp!


End file.
